


Stripped Of All But Pride

by midnightwriter



Series: If I could be with you tonight [1]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Hair Washing, M/M, Pre-Slash, silly and fluff, they're naked but there's no smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21947713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightwriter/pseuds/midnightwriter
Summary: "Getting dirty from monster guts was something that Jaskier never thought he would grow accustomed to, yet here he was, guts and blood all over his face and clothes."Geralt kills a monster. He and Jaskier are filthy and have to bathe in the nearest river. No smut, but they're naked the whole time.You don't have to read the other fic to understand this one, they stand alone.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: If I could be with you tonight [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579993
Comments: 19
Kudos: 1137





	Stripped Of All But Pride

**Author's Note:**

> I've told you I was going to write more about these two idiots! I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> English isn't my first language and I don't have a beta, so I appreciate it if you point mistakes and typos!

Getting dirty from monster guts was something that Jaskier never thought he would grow accustomed to, yet here he was, guts and blood all over his face and clothes. The worst part was not that: it was having to walk for long minutes until they could find a river they could bathe in and wash their clothes. Or having enough money to pay for a room in an inn that offered them a place to bathe. He also had to spend money to buy new clothes.

  
It was becoming very expensive to keep himself clean around the Witcher.

  
Geralt, on the other hand, despite being annoyed at all the blood, guts and general dirt, didn't mind it as much. Jaskier asked him about it one day and all he got was a shrug and "you get used to it. You get used to much worse."

  
Unfortunately, Geralt was right.

  
Jaskier was still bothered by that, yes, but not as much as before. This time, he simply followed Geralt for almost an hour until the closest river, and only complained a couple of times (to which the Witcher responded by grunting annoyed). It was a little cold, but spring was approaching fast and making the leaves green and the flowers blossom. The woods were beautiful this time of the year.

  
They took their clothes off, putting them on a stone near the river. Despite the cold water, Jaskier was eager to get in and wash himself. He found a piece of an ear on his collarbone that he wondered how it managed to reach him, he had been hiding behind a tree for the worst and bloodiest part of the battle between Geralt and the monster.

  
The first few times they bathed together, Jaskier was uncomfortable. Gerald was taller, more muscular and Jaskier felt inferior, somehow. Things like these didn't usually bother him, who had plenty of luck with women and men around the realms. Geralt, though, didn't have an ounce of shame in his body, flaunting all of that to anyone who wanted to see, the bastard. It took a few times to ease himself into the sight of him naked.

  
Then, when Jaskier started caring for Geralt more than just keeping him close for protection and inspiration, he started to notice the scars more than the muscles. Some of those he was there to see when they became a permanent fixture on the Witcher's skin. But most of them were old, probably from long before Jaskier was even born. He often wondered about the origin of those; he tried asking but failed to get more than a few words out of Geralt.

  
Jaskier wanted to write about those old battles that became old scars, sometimes he would even create entire songs just to fill the silence between him and the Witcher or to silence the voice in his head that was so curious about everything related to Geralt. He could lose himself in thought forever while looking at the Witcher and trying to figure him out.

  
"What are you staring at?" Geralt asked, waist-deep into the river while attempting to scrub the blood from his upper arm.

  
Jaskier supposed he literally had lost himself in thought while staring at the Witcher. He thought of the first excuse he could think of, not willing to share his deepest thoughts. Not here. Not yet. He knew if he got drunk enough, he would sing like a bird (both metaphorically and literally).

  
"You've got grime on your hair," was his lame answer (and also the truth, Geralt's hair was more blood and guts than hair at the moment).

  
Geralt brushed off some of the bits of guts on his hair. Jaskier laughed at the attempt, hard enough for Geralt to notice and glare impatiently.

"What?"

  
"I might have to start calling you the Dirty Wolf from now on," he laughed at his joke. Geralt threw water in his direction, hitting Jaskier on the face and making him swallow some of it. He choked and Geralt gave a satisfied smirk. Bastard.

  
When he recovered and saw that the Witcher still hadn't been able to wash off everything, he got closer, murmuring about Witches that can defeat monsters but can't properly take care of themselves.

  
"Let me offer you some help, Witcher."

  
Geralt glared again but Jaskier had been following him for many weeks now, it would take more than one look to scare him away. He could see right past that angry façade of his, it was just to support the narrative of being a Big, Bad Witcher. In reality, Geralt was one of the kindest people Jaskier ever met. Not that he would tell him that because then Geralt might kill him just to prove him wrong.

  
"Be still," he requested as he started to comb Geralt's long hair with his fingers.

  
He washed off all the blood and guts and leaves, then patiently undid all the knots. He also rubbed his back, helping him to scrub all the dirt Geralt hadn't managed to clean by himself.

  
To his surprise, the Witcher allowed him to do it. Didn't complain nor growled. Maybe one or two eye rolls when Jaskier started to compose out loud a song about a lovely maiden with very fine white hair that hid its beauty with mud, so an evil sorceress wouldn't steal it from her. Jaskier would have to write that one down later.

  
"My, my, look at you, Geralt! The fairest of them all!" He admired both his work and the man in front of him once he was finished.

  
"Shut your mouth," he told him off and immediately rose out of water.

  
"Always so polite to people, I wonder if at that magic academy of yours you were actually raised by wolves. It would explain very much about your manners."

  
Geralt ignored him and walked to the edge of the river, where he sat, legs half inside the water, and started to wash his clothes. He stared unamused at Jaskier, who collected his clothes and sat next to the Witcher, so he could wash his clothes too.

  
"I simple thank you would be nice," Jaskier said with expectation.

  
"Hmm," was all he got as a response.

  
Jaskier shook his head, not believing in Geralt's rudeness. He wouldn't just help any guy to wash blood and guts off the hair, you know? And he told him so.

  
"I didn't ask you to do it."

  
"But I did anyway because that's what friends do, they help without being asked to."

  
He smiled, waiting for Geralt to recognize the bond between them and his importance to this team of two.

  
"We're not friends," he said.

  
Jaskier sighed, resigned to wash his clothes alongside his not-friend, letting silence take over them for a few moments. Fortunately, he knew enough songs to be able to banish the silence. Soon, he started to compose the song about their most recent battle, singing it loud enough to not be able to listen to Geralt's grunting.

  
Jaskier was, after all, getting used to all of this, monsters, Witcher and every weird and unexpected thing that it brought to his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe there's more to come... ;D
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are welcomed and cherished.
> 
> Russian translation available at https://ficbook.net/readfic/8931152 by @Ksushonchik


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